MR. SEDDON, THE UNEMPLOYED, AND THE RAILWAY.

Kumara Times, Issue 2937, 30 March 1886, Page 3

MR. SEDDON, THE UNEMPLOYED, AND THE RAILWAY.

[to the editor.] Sir —And why now ship another batch, or even a half dozen batches, of the unemployed from Christchvch or elsewhere ? If Mr R. J. Seddon, &c., regrets it, I flatter myself in thinking the whole of Westland, 'leaving Mr Seddon out, will welcome the inauguration, advancement, and completion, of the. Grey-Hokitika Railway with their warmest approval. It is a work that might have been finish' d some eight or ten years ago, had Mr Seddon not opposed the work by leading a faction of the inland towns against its construction along the sea beach. He and the ones he leads insisted upon having a deviation—not branches—to connect Stafford, Goldsborough, and Kumara. This had the effect of stopping the railway indefinitely, a? new surveys and estimates had to be made, which exceeded the original estimate by, I believe, about £200,000. The Government of the * day were only too glad to catch at tin* opposition raised by Seddon and party to consign the whole railway to the pigeon-holes of the Public Works Office, with the exception of a scratch at both ends, which has been a standing disgrace for nearly ten years, of this and the then much-needed railway. If Mr Seddon had allowed the railway to proceed along the beach in those days, and urged the Government to construct O 1 two branches, one to touch at Stafford j and Gold bo rough, and the other at Kum- j ara, Westland would have been in a 1 different position to-day in population, ; wealth, and comfort. Time shows that | Mr Seddon is one of the most conserva- j tive men living in New Zealand. A j

free ami liberal policy on his behalf i would have risen Westland nut of its i mire of despondency. Petty local j jealousies and his own conservative j views have kept Westland back in the ; march of civilisation a solid ten rears. ■ And now, forsooth, he “for his part would sooner the Grey-Hckilika Railway were never made “ than to have the West Coast created a “ New Caledonia.” I for one deny that such is a fact, the Government never intended or intends to deport convict labour for the construction of railways in Westland. Had they thought of doing so. the prison gang now in the Queen’s Hotel, Hokitika, under the charge of Mr Cleary, would probably have been the first to proceed with the work. Were it insinuated that the Government even thought of deporting convict labour for railway purposes, it would not only be Mr Seddon who would rise j in virtuous indignation against the j scheme, but the whole population of I Westland—man, woman, and child. I A greater slur than Richard John j Seddon, M.H.R.’s telegram to the Min- I ister of Public Works, was never cast j upon a honest body of men, who in the 1 face of starvation have left the part of i New Zealand they were accustomed to, j to cope with the West Coast bush in j railway making, for a honest and j manly living. Mr Seddon owns in a \ slipshod manner that “ some of those 1 shipped are decent fellows,” which may j mean that there are but two or three i working men amongst the crowd, and | that the other shipments coming will • be same. This is hard to believe, for where English men of the averagetype are met with, yon will find the bone and muscle to overcome the great- ! est difficulties, I am happy in thinking such will be the case in this instance. I may say here that the “drunk” and “vagrant” who were run into choky for a few hours do not throw the slightest reflection upon the remainder of the band of hold-hardy pioneers. The same two men may' yet amend and become the two most assiduous workmen oir the works. Nearly all the remainder of Mr Seddon’s wordy telegram is unintelligible and devoid of meaning, excepting his position as member and his allusion to forest planting in Canterbury. In that he is wrong, for forest planting requires years of toil, forethought, and skill. Mr Seddon evidently thinks ii, is as easy to plant a forest as it is to . chop one down. His idea of Ids position as member for the district is unique : he pompously complain.-, to ib Minister for Public Works that he (Mr Seddon) might have, hern coniteously consulted as to the .stair; of .he labour market heie. Ridicn’oir-: complaint I The Minister created now works in tins distiicl upon an urg. nt and imperative demand for sustenance from a large and increasing body of unemployed workmen in Christchurch, iic. The new works opened, in no manner of way el i-be-; with die labour market here, By how Mr Beddon can

soy it will cause la'> >nr in lie a drug is not very clear, os it is understood the Government will c mtinue to tied employment for the men they hove sent, till the railway is fini-ind. New leads of ciurif “ions black smd miy possibly he opened through the. construction of the railway, which would give an impetus to mining on the beach again, and would add a fresh hatch ot names to the Electoral Hoii, some of which may be urgently wanted hv Mr It, J. Seddon at the next general election. I hope I have not tired yours or your readers’ patienc".—Yours truly,

Decency before Honours Kumara, March 29th, 1886.